New Beer Weekend #213

my second share of the evening with this thread is Inner Space Imperial Stout , aged in Old Elk Bourbon barrels for 11 months. Beer is from Barreled Souls in Saco Maine and registers 13% ABV.

onto my review:

Im sampling a 500 ml bottle at cellar temp and poured into my snifter. The beer was bottled on 2/2/2023. I picked it up at the brewery in the fall of 2024 and its been in my cellar since then.
The beer pours a rich dark coffee brown color, although no light passes through my glass, when held to the light. A dense creamy beige head foams up about .5 cm and fades to a sturdy surface layer soon after the pour. One large island of foam also slowly spins in the center of my glass.
Aroma on this beer is a nice mix of malt characters. I get dark chocolate, caramel notes and a little vanilla and some bourbon notes. No hop note and the booziness is also very well hidden on the aroma.
the first sip reveals a medium body with fine tingly carbonation. Fairly smooth texture, not very sticky or coating, which can happen on some bigger beers.
Flavor is similar to the nose, some dark chocolate and molasses with caramel and bourbon notes coming on in the middle and bourbon lingering. Not a lot of char or barrel character, and not very sweet bourbon and Im not getting any vanilla here. No hop character and the beer is not very boozy either. I am enjoying this beer over the course of the evening and am glad to have a 2nd bottle in the cellar.
4.31 in the BA DB